Bond-wire supporter



Patented Jan. 4, 1927.

unrrso STATES 1,612,984 PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK A. IBEEST'ON, OF HIGHLAND ?ARK, ILLINOIS,.ASSIG-NOR TO THE P &M COMPANY, OF CHICAGO., ILLINOIS. A COEPGEATION OF ILLINOIS.

BOND-WIBE SUPPORTER.

Application filcd December 30, 1922. Seri'al No. 609,806.

My invention relates to bond wire supporters, that is to say, to devicesfor supporting, intermediate their ends, the Wires used for bonding ormaking electrical Vconnections between abutting rails of a railroadtrack; and the object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedbond wire supporter which can be cheaply manufactured and easily appliedto the rail and which will hold the bond wire or wir'es in properposition against the angle bar or splice bar employed for making thejoin between the rails in such manner that the wire or wires cannot beremoved from the supporter without removing or at least loosening thenut of the track bolt which fastens the supporter to the splice bar.

It is a matter of considerable importance, and one concerning the safetyof the traveling public and those operating railroad trains, that thewires used for bonding the rails, particularly the bonding wires used onsteam railroads for insuring the transmission through the track ofsignaling currents, should be held in their proper place againstdisplacement accidentally or through malice or ignorance, since theproper functioning of the signaling mechanism depends upon maintenanceof a continuous current through the track. V

Bond Wires are usually of such length that when attached to adjacentrails there is enough slack to allow the wires to be bent over on theball of the ra'il in a position to be cut by the Wheels of passingtrains or to be bent down on the ballast or away from the rail, in whichpositions they are likely to be injured through the ignorance of thetrack men or torn from the rails by dragging rigging on the trains, Thesame considerations which make it desirable to fasten or clip bond wiresat points intermediatc their ends to the splice bars, should requirealso that these attachments be reliable and capable of withstanding someforce and that they should be such that cannot be easily tampered witheither ignorantly or maliciously. Unless the wires are so fastened tothe splice bar there is a chance of their being disengaged from thesupporter or clip by the dragging rigging on passing trains. It alsohappens sometimes that bond wires are deliberately and maliciouslypulled away from their clips and over the ball of the rail bytrespassers in order that they may be cut and 'destroyed Notinfrequently trackmen, not m'aliciously but through ignorance, findingthe wires in the way, will either bend them upwardly or downwardly outof their proper' place in order to more conveniently reach some part ofthe track on which he is working. My invention has these severalcontingencies in view and seeks to provide a supporter which, besidesbeing inexpensive to manufacture, will serve to hold the wire or wiresin their proper place positively and so long as the track bolt nut isnot removed or loosened instead of merely clipping them to or retainingthem against the splice bars as has been customary. Even a maliciouslyinclined person is not likely to go so far as to loosen a track boltsince such act is likely to be detected and if detected will be severelypunished. The invention has in view in its more specific aspect, a bondwire supporter for use in connection with a splice bar having anoutwardly projecting shoulder along its upper edge as shown in theannexed drawing.

In the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of myinvention,

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of a railroad rail and its splice barwith the bond wire supporter of my invention attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a view, in perspective, of the supporting device shown in Fig.1, and

Fig. 3 is a view, in elevation, of the inside of a slightly modifiedform of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, designates a railroad rail and 11, 11' thesplice or angle bars for making the joint between abutting Vrails, theterm abutting being used with only approximate correctness becauseaocording to the usual practice Spaces' for expansion exist between theadjacent ends of the rails of a railroad track. 12 indicates one of thetrack bolts for securing the splice bars 11, 11' to the rail 10, and 13a nut for bolt 12.

Referring first to the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thesupporter consists of a strip of metal 141, preferably of steel havingsome resiliency, the lower end 15 of which (having reference to the moreusual position of the device on the track) is formed with an opening 16for the track bolt 12. Above this apertured part the strip is formedwith an outwardly projecting offset 17 and the remaining portion of thestrip ll O is bent to form a loop 18 for the bond Wires, tWo of Whichare shown in Fig. 3 and designated 19, the extremity of the stripproviding a tongue 20 Which, as the device is manufactured, stands closeto but out of contact With the portion 21 of the strip on the other sideof loop 18 so as to leave a spa-ce or channel 22 for insertion of thebond Wires into the loop. Preferably the tongue 21 is formed With aninwardly projecting lip 23 Which has substantially the inclination ofofiset 17.

In attaching the supporter to the rail joint nut 13 is removed from bolt12, the supporter is slipped over the bond Wii-es 13, Which pass intothe loop 18 through the open channel 22, and the nut 13 is then replacedon the bolt and screWed down so as to clamp the supporter against theoi'itu'ardly projecting shoulder 24 on the upper edge of the spliee bar11, thus closing,` the loop by bringing tongue 20 against the oppositeportion 21 of the device and he lip 23, Which extends under the shoulder242 of the splice har, against the offset portion 17 of the supporter.

VVith the bond Wires held in this manner at one or more pointsinterniediate their ends (the usual practice being; to use twosipporters for each joint), it is impossible to detach the Wires fromthe supporter Without removing the nut 13. Moreover, the Wires are heldWith practical certaintltv .against accidental detachinent sinceithardly possible to oxert sufiicient force on the Wlres to pull thetongue 20 away ironi its bindinr enfl'ao'einent With the solice bar. uz: a l

rl`he device is preferably made of spring` steel yielding enough so thatthe loop is closed, or to all intents and purposes closed, When thedevice is attached to the splice har but stiff enough so that the upperpart of thedevice cannot he bent, Without exerting` considerab-le force,to open up the loop In Fig. 3 I have shown J inodifieo forin of bondWire supporter,

designated 25, i. Yhich has the general configuration of the deviceshown in Figs. 1 and 2, but oniits the lip 23 and is provided With anopen recess 20 at its loi-.ver end so that it inay he slipped o'lf andon the track bolt by inerely loosening the nut 13.

wWhile I iav assumed that the liond Wire supporter of my invention Wouldlie used on the nut end of the holt it obvious the* 't might be used ther end of trie ho lthough less convenientv I. claim: 1. A bond Wiresupporter for attachment by a fastening device to a rairmild rail barhaving an outvra ff i a. L l at its upper edge consisting` a inet thelower end of Which is formed nient With said fastening device and theupper end of which is offset outwardly from the lower end, is bent overto forin a loop for the bond Wire and a tone `e Which intervenes betweenthe shoulder oi the splice har and the part of the supporter on theopposite side of said loop to close said loop When the supporter issecured to the splice har.

2. A bond Wire supporter for attachment hy a fastening device to arailroad rail a strip,

elite bar having' an outwardl nro'ectino' r to i b shoulder at its upperedge, consisting of niet-il strip formed at its lower end forengagenient Wit-h said fastenine` device and at its upper end With a 1'ion offset out- Wardly from the lower end and bent over to form a loopfor the bond Wire, and a' 4tongue Which intervenes between the shoulderof the splice har and the part of the supporter on the opposite side ofsaid loop to close said loop 'When the supporter secured to the splicebar, said tongue loeing provided With an inwardly projecting' lipwvhichextends under the splice W shoulder.

rnnnsnioit a. ransi-on.

